Saving "Dark Shadows"

By Elaine Viets

I’ve been waiting three years now. That’s an eternity for a fan, but barely a moment for a vampire.

The "Dark Shadows" movie has been delayed – again.

In July 2007, Warner Bros. bought the film rights to the Gothic TV soap. Johnny Depp, the man with a face like a sculpture, would play the vampire Barnabas. Be still, my heart. (Well, not too still. Barnabas is a vampire.)

The "Dark Shadows" news got better: the delightfully twisted Tim Burton would direct. That set my bones dancing.

I waited, ready for the big screen release. I got only the silence of the grave. I was afraid "Dark Shadows" had joined the ranks of the undead. Now there’s new – and alarming – news. Novelist Seth Grahame-Smith has been hired to write the screen play. Multiple script writers? What happened to that Tim Burton regular, John August? Is this the kiss of death?

Production is supposed to start in January 2011, but I am losing hope.

Now you know my dark secret – I’m a "Dark Shadows" fan. At least I’m not alone: Johnny Depp, along with most of my friends, discovered the soap’s dark delights in childhood. I first saw "Dark Shadows" five years ago. My friend Marilyn talked about it so much I finally got the DVDs. I was hooked.

The plot line was impossible for me to follow: There was a creepy mansion in creepy Collinsport, a town with lousy weather, lightning flashes and moaning wind. Movie queen Joan Bennett played Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, a woman with a dark secret whose husband disappeared years ago. Joan Bennett played other characters, as the show shifted back and forth in time and even alongside in a parallel universe.

Elizabeth had a beautiful, rebellious daughter, Carolyn. Because Mom never left the mansion, Carolyn stayed out until all hours. All the teens watching the show identified with her. Personally, Carolyn had more life – and better clothes – than that mousy Bella moping around in "Twilight."

About a year into "Dark Shadows," Barnabas the Vampire was released from his coffin and the show took on new life. A blonde wandered around his mansion, looking gorgeous and plaintively calling "Barnabas."

"Dark Shadows" was taped live on a low budget, so most mistakes were too expensive to reshoot. Viewers saw shaky walls, microphone shadows and other bloopers. Fans lovingly detailed the goofs. "During the credits for episode 703 (a shot of the Collinwood foyer) Jonathan walks across the screen in a contemporary outfit, carrying his costume draped over his arm," DS chronicler Craig Hamrick wrote.

Jonathan Frid was such a compelling presence that the cheap productions and convoluted plots didn’t matter. We fell under his spell. No wonder Johnny Depp wanted to be Jonathan.

Now I’m wondering if a Burton-Depp remake of "Dark Shadows" is a good idea. The soap had a cheesy innocence that can’t be recaptured. Our view of vampires has changed since Sookie Stackhouse started sleeping with the undead in "True Blood."

The old "Dark Shadows" had one thing Tim Burton and Johnny Depp will never see again: a small budget.

I’m offering this suggestion to save your project, Tim and Johnny.

Take all the new scripts. Add another three years of "Dark Shadows" TV scripts. Shuffle the papers and drop them in a pile. Now remove the first 300 pages. Shoot them over the weekend in your home. No retakes. No rehearsals.

It’s your only hope, Tim and Johnny, to lift up those Dark Shadows.

Comments

[Maryann Mercer]

Barnabas Collins was (and still is) the only vampire (well Frank Langella's Dracula was a close second)to stir my adolescent and twenty something heart. He was SO tortured...when I first heard that Johnny Depp was to be the current incarnation I had doubts. Yes, he's an amazing talent, but can he play someone with centuries of angst and not somehow be tempted to throw in a bit of Captain Jack? However...I agree that the big budget might erase the charm of the rickety Collins mansions, the secret passages,and crypt. And who would play Angelique? Or Victoria? Or that creepy caretaker? And remember, there was always an element of kitsch in the old hallways and staircases... Oh I miss those days :o) Thanks Elaine...now I have to rent the DVDs (again)!

[gaylin in vancouver]

I somehow missed Dark Shadows - entirely, what are you talking about? . . . I guess this is what happens when I lived with only the CBC for entertainment until 1974! I am guessing you all missed Don Messer's Jubilee and the Tommy Hunter Show.

[Laraine]

Dark Shadows was a forbidden pleasure in my house, so much so that I don't think I ever saw more than about ten minutes of the series. I keep thinking that I should find it and watch the whole thing, as even when I didn't get to watch it, I knew it was deliciously wonderful from what I heard of it from my cousins (who weren't as severely fundamentalist as they are now) and friends.
I like your plan for saving it, Elaine, and I feel that Johnny Depp should only be allowed to take the project on if he absolutely promises no Captain Jack or Willie Wonka mugging. I think he's brilliant, but even brilliance is wearing if it has the same facial quirks all the time . . . .
Here's hoping. Elaine, who would you want for Barnabas or Jonathon if JD opts out?

[Laraine]

Wait, I edited out the 'who weren't as severely fundamentalist' part of my post because I didn't think it was appropriate . . . why did it show up again? Doesn't Mr. Typepad allow deletes and back-spacing pre-posting???

[Josh]

My sisters loved Dark Shadows back in the '60's, but I was too young. I was more into "Gigantor" and "Speed Racer."

As for shooting like that, (one take, no real script) that sounds like some Kevin Smith movies I've seen.

[Leslie]

I LOVED Dark Shadows. I am not sure it could survive a movie though. The reason I have never wanted to watch it again a s an adult is it would not be the same as the one I remember from my childhood. I actually sat through and remember Nixon's inauguration because I was waiting for Dark Shadows to come on. My mother who was trying to get rid of me keep saying it would be on any minute. I am not sure, Johnny Depp or not, that I would watch the movie. Afraid I would lose the great memories.

[Kathy Sweeney]

Like Laraine, we had to sneek to watch it, which just added to the spook factor.

We weren't allowed to watch any soap operas, and Dark Shadows was particularly verboten. No worries, I made up for it in college, where the world did stop turning for the afternoon stories.

Now, I have to get my soap fix at night. Like Grey's Anatomy.

[Nora]

Oh...Dark Shadows! My guilty pleasure in my youth...it was MY time in front of the tv...watching it through pressed fingers, on the edge of the couch! AHhhhh. What a good time of my life...Dark Shadows, Merv Griffin, and Mike Douglas show (?)..Happy days for me! I learned alot of pop culture..Remember Totie Fields? Back to subject. I fear they cannot capture it accurately in a movie..but we can hope!

[Liz]

I loved "Dark Shadows" - I used to bolt home from classes (I was in college) in order to watch it. Even got my mother hooked. Angelique was my favorite character - Lara Parker is one of the unsung villains of television. She was so deliciously evil.

[nancy martin]

Ooooh, Frank Langella! Now *he* was a sexy vampire!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glTBzcwB7-Q

[Elaine Viets]

The young Frank Langella remains my vampire favorite. But Barnabas had a tortured angst that still lingers. He was one of the first "good" vampires.
Who should play him? Jonathan Frid was basically an unknown Shakespearean when he took the role. So I'd say a classically trained, taleted unknown should take the role.
Gaylin, we get a lot of CBC shows on DVD, including "Slings and Arrows," and love them. Try a season or two of "Dark Shadows."

[Kaye Barley]

Another Dark Shadows fan here. I was one of those who rushed back to the dorm after class to watch with every other girl in my dorm. After the show there were always "instant replays" put on by all of us - including the scenery and set boo-boo's.

I'd love it if Johnny Depp would play the role tongue in cheek, but that's probably not going to happen. Maybe, though, they'll keep their sense of humor and duplicate some of those famous boo-boo's.

[Maryann Mercer]

OK, so now you guys have me watching Barnabas and Victoria on YouTube...and of course the whole series is available on Netflix. If I could figure out how to do the link thing I would, but the lack of air conditioning is fuzzing up my brain (it quit last night, repairman coming this AM). Just check Barnabas & Victoria on YT and tell me he isn't compelling :o)

[PJ Parrish]

Talk about syncronicity. Just yesterday, I was hearing Dark Shadow's music looping in my head. So I went to Youtube -- natch -- to hear it. There's the creepy credits theme, but the best was "Quentin's Theme."

As he says: "I read somewhere that everyone has a theme of music. Well, this is mine. When I'm alone, depressed, I can play this and I am free."

THey don't make cheese like this anymore!

Hear it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9zkmANRZss

As for Langella's Dracula -- he fueled many of my fantasies. Sexy man.

[Alan P.]

I loved Dark Shadows. It was like watching old horror movies. I liked the NBC remake until they killed it deader than any stake through the heart could. I can picture it now. Two minutes until the big season ending cliffhanger....

"We break now for important weather updates." Ohhh, a thunderstorm in Jefferson County, maybe. The lead story at 10:01 needed to be introduced at 9:58.

[Nancy Pate]

Thanks, Elaine. Loved Dark Shadows as a kid. Years later interviewed Joan Bennett and she didn't want to talk about it. Or much else. Thanks, PJ, for cheesy link!

[Nancy Pickard]

That is most excellent advice you gave Johnny and Tim, Elaine. Please, guys, listen to her. But even if they don't--I think they have it in them to be cheesy. :)

I adored Dark Shadows. I was in my early twenties, and a little group of us used to gather to watch it. It was my first vampire love. Later, I moved on to Anne Rice's Lestat, and then Buffy's Spike stole my heart forever. I like to think I have great taste in vamps.

[KarinNH]

I had a very vivid imagination as a kid, so watching Dark Shadows just once resulted in nightmares. My mother promptly banned the show. Still cannot watch scary stuff!

[Mary Stella]

I was around 10 or 11 when Dark Shadows came out. My friends and I were crazy about that show. Barnabas, Victoria Winters, Angelique, Quentin. I don't think we ever noticed the flimsy sets when we had daily doses of vampires, werewolves, witches, curses, and a parallel dimension.

We collected and read all of the books, too.

Under the heading of "obscure facts I know", the actress who played Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) was the mistress of Claus von Bulow when his wife Sunny fell into a coma. Alexandra testified at both of his trials. She's the daughter of a count, btw.

[Judith]

If you think Johnny Depp would inject a previous character into Barnabas, think more along the lines of Sweeney Todd. Now there's a combination.

I also am a DS groupie. My husband gets sick of me re-renting the series from Netflix.

[Elaine Viets]

Good dish on Victoria Winters, Mary. Kate Collins was in "Dark Shadows," too.
Yes, Nancy, you have excellent taste in vampires. I liked Spike, but thought Buffy was just plain wrong to hook up with him.

[Cornelia Read]

I only remember the first episode, from when I was little and home sick on the debut day... something about a little girl and a little boy and a spooky old-fashioned telephone?

[Karen in Ohio]

It was on when I was a teenager, but I don't remember watching more than maybe one or two episodes. Never got into it, but I knew people who were really devoted to the series.

Johnny Depp is a serious actor, Jack Sparrow and Willie Wonka notwithstanding. He was utterly wonderful in Alice in Wonderland. I'm sure he would not "vamp it up", unless it served the story.

[Mare F]

I did run home to watch it every day. I also enjoyed Ben Cross in the brief run the remake of the series had in 1991. I think Johnny Depp would be fabulous!

[Laura (in PA)]

My husband was a huge DS fan when it originally ran. I never saw it.

I had the same thought as Karen. Johnny Depp (who is one of my daughter's obsessions) can deliver plenty of angst. I actually enjoyed Jack Sparrow as a way to see Johnny lighten up a bit.

[Pam aka SisterZip]

TOTIE FIELDS!!!!

I would hide in my room with the lights out until my parents were sure I was asleep. I would turn on the tv in my room so low I could barely hear it and stay up to watch Totie Fields on Carson. Loved her.

I would watch a Dark Shadows movie in a minute. I had a set of books
http://www.darkshadowsonline.com/books.html

and I loved the stories. (a copy of the original Paperback Library paperback is selling for $180 on the collectable market) I think it would work great. I think Robert Downey, Jr. would make a great Barnabas.

I look back on Jonathan Frid and wonder just exactly I saw in him. But Barnabas....wow. The only vampire I ever loved, lol. Edward could learn a few things from him!

[Evelyn David]

I loved Dark Shadows as a child. My brother and I would watch, hiding under a blanket - only our eyes peeking out. We drank iced tea (without the ice) poured into glasses we thought looked like those that Barnabas drank his brandy from. And at night we tied knee socks around our necks to make it hard for the vampires to find a vein. Not sure that today's kids would be scared by the special effects but we were. I was actually more interested in Quentin than Barnabas. I was so upset when I found out he was a werewolf.

Evelyn David

[Elaine Viets]

Here's what you can get me for Christmas: Dark Shadows Greeting Cards.
Check them out at www.darkshadowsfestival.com/page06.htm

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

You know, I totally missed Dark Shadows. I'm sure I would have loved it..but probaby was doing homework. (Joke. Sort of.)

DO you think if I watched it now it would still be wonderful? Or way too retro? And do you think people who didn't watch DS on TV would "get" the movie?

(I actually raced home to watch American Bandstand. I can still hear the theme song in my head! And I know I'd love to watch that again. So I could do rate-a-record! And watch Justine and Bobby.)

(Brief digression to Storyteller Mary--thank you for the very kind words about FACE TIME! It truly means a lot..xoxo)

[Elaine Viets]

Hank, it's never too late to enjoy "Dark Shadows." Don and I watched the show as grown-ups. Faults and all, it has a marvelous intensity. Especially Barnabas, who joins the cast the second years.

[Karen in Ohio]

Omigosh, tying socks around your neck to keep from getting vampire bit! Only a kid would dream that one up. lol

[Nora]

American Bandstand??? Oh...what I would have done for the white Go Go boots!! And the bouncing ponytails. I had a pixie haircut. Loved those dancing shows...on a good day we could get reception for Soul Train...now that was a treat! I never noticed all the poor production probs...watching through my fingers and praying my mother didn't walk in, kept me very busy...and...I really was too young to notice (ahem)
No to go look through the library catalog to see if I can borrow some Dark Shadows....

[Laraine]

OMG, Quentin's Theme! Although I wasn't allowed to watch the show, I sure knew that 'dreamy' theme song, and it vied with the theme from Dr. Zhivago for melancholy love-lorn angst.
Frank Langella--I never saw the Dracula + bride movie, think I'm going to have to go back to it--love the clip.

My earlier comment about JDepp mugging was unfair, but I do think direction would be huge on a DS remake, as a lazy director would over-rely on Depp's unique eyes or ironic exaggerated smile trademarks from Wonka/Sparrow.

[Holly Gault]

Hijack: Jacqueline Winspear is, at this moment, being interviewed on KQED with Cara Black and Sheldon Siegel in preparation for the 17th Annual Mystery Writers Conference at the Book Passage in San Francisco/Corte Madera. I think Cornelia will also be in attendance.

[Mike Doran (aka Lowbrow Crank)]

A couple of points from someone old enough to remember the original:
- They already did two movies, while the series was still running.Cheap and cheesy as Swiss, but lotsa fun (and cleaned up at the boxoffice). I remember how they had to juggle the actors' schedules and storylines to get everybody in the movie while still doing a daily TV show.

- This seems to me like the kind of property that could be wrecked by an overly expensive production. Dark Shadows still inspires affection among its old fans precisely because they were almost doing it (so to speak) on the fly. To do it up in the modern CGI style would be like putting racing stripes on a hearse.

- Casting: Jonathan Frid was in his mid-40s when he played Barnabas - and looked older, more ravaged.
In a new version the character would have be someone who looked as though he'd been through devastation - an older man. That lets out Johnny Depp; when he's 65, bartenders will still be carding him.
Someone like Hugh Laurie would be more like it.

- One tradition that must be observed: cameos by surviving members of the original cast.
Not many of those left, by I believe Frid is one.
And so are Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott.
(Not to mention Abe Vigoda.)

- Or maybe Elaine is right.
They did it right the first time.
So let it alone.

[Fred Blosser]

Is it too much to assert that DARK SHADOWS kept monsters on the radar of Middle America in the stretch of time between the demise of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and the advent of Stephen King? Some other talented actors on the show who always struck the pitch-perfect balance of ham and wry: Mitch Ryan, David Selby, John Karlen, Thayer David, Grayson Hall, Roger Davis. As I remember, the writers handled Alexandra Moltke's departure from the series by having Victoria Winters travel back to colonial times and decamp to the frontier with Roger Davis' dashing buckskinner.

[Harley]

DARK SHADOWS was practically a babysitter, the summer my grandma died, my mom had to teach summer school, and I was considered old enough to stay home alone . . . ah, but I was not alone. I had Barnabas & Co. It was almost biblical in its importance to my life. Which is possibly why the words "low budget" thrill me to this day. As a director friend of mine says, "Embrace the cheese."

Nancy P., you are so right. And Elaine, I love you like a sister, but Buffy was not wrong to hook up with Spike. The heart has reasons that reason cannot comprehend.

[Nancy Pickard]

Harley understands. Harley! The building-falling-down-around-them episode. . .who cares if it was good for Buffy, it was damn good for me.

Hank, Bob & Justine! Kenny & Arlene! Loved the American Bandstand couples.

[Elaine Viets]

Harley, I'm not saying I would have resisted Spike if I was in her shoes. But still . ..
Fred, you are right. DS had werewolves, ghosts and other things that go bump in the night. If I remember correctly, Barnabas was brought in after a successful introduction of a ghost and he was only slated for a few appearances.
Mike, I agree about the casting.

[Pam aka SisterZip]

I actually liked Buffy with Spike more than Angel. I always felt that Angel made Buffy feel less confident about herself as a woman. But Spike wanted her for herself not for how she helped other people.

And besides, much as I liked Angel, Spike was HOT!!!

[Nancy Pickard]

What Pam said.
Spike has hijacked the thread. That's so like him.

[Harley]

Would Spike have been as hot without The Hair? This question sometimes keeps me up nights.

[Laraine]

"Spike has hijacked the thread. That's so like him."

Ha-ha, ha! I was so angry when Buffy succumbed to Spike, as I Did Not Like him; but it has grown on me over time, and Pam's comment that Buffy was less confident about herself as a woman with Angel is kinda true . . . but it probably reflects my own tendency (in the past, one devoutly hopes???) to have been less confident about myself as a woman if love and uncertainty of being loved were involved, so I didn't see that as bad in Buffy, at the time.

Must do a Buffy marathon one of these days . . . maybe this winter.

I vote for Elaine and Mike to be the content and technical advisers on the new film, and wonder whether Robb Lowe (properly directed) would make sense for one of the, um, mature dramatic leads.

[Nancy Pickard]

Laraine, Rob Lowe! That's a brilliant suggestion. Really, we could help them so much with their movie.

Spike without the hair. Good question, Harley. I think maybe the hair was crucial. Spike without the hair would be Johnny without the cheekbones, Paul Newman without the eyes, Mel Gibson without the sex appeal. Oh, wait.

[Pam aka SisterZip]

Actually, James Marsters has gone back to his brown hair and doesn't have quite the "evil" dangerous look to him. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0551346/

I still think Robert Downey Jr would make a great Barnabas. And I am not a real big Rob Lowe fan. Too wimpy looking for my tastes.

[Marie]

Elaine, for some reason I missed episodes of Dark Shadows.

Gaylin, Don Messer and His Islanders was a fifteen minute radio show that I listened to three times a week around dinnertime.

Totie Fields..I loved her.

I loved Johnny Carson with George Gobel, Dean Martin and all those contemporaries.

Michael Douglas and Merv Griffin were staples in my house when the kids were small.
Plenty of great memories here, Elaine!!

[Elaine Viets]

Check out the photos on www.darkshadowsfestival.com to help with casting. I'm not sure about Robert Downey Junior.
If you recall, Johnny D struck exactly the right note (pun intended) in Sweeney Todd.

[Marie]

Daytime TV filled a need for mothers at home and offered grown-up talk with Virginia Graham a larger than life columnist and personality.
Soaps filled an emotional need for people separated from family and familiar surroundings.
God help me but I was totally lulled by the Hortons on Days of Our Lives. When Frances Reid who played the matriarch place the Christmas ornaments on the Christmas tree I was enraptured. These people became my surrogate family since I was new to California and finding my way.
I cannot apologize for being a sentimental sap because without the Hortons I would not have made through the early years of transition.

[Mike Doran (aka Lowbrow Crank)]

I appreciate the offer of the casting position; have your people call my people. ;)

While I'm here, may I pass on a sorta-funny story about the 1970 movie version, when it played here in Chicago?

1970 was an off-year election, and one of the more hotly contested campaigns was for the Presidency of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Mayor Daley's candidate, George Dunne, was the incumbent, and his Republican opponent was Joe Woods, the county Sheriff.
In his campaign, Woods ran a series of TV spots showing citizens complaining about various thing that the County Board ought to be doing something about. At the close of the dramatized spots (which were filmed in Hollywood - I recognized some of the actors), Woods would dramatically walk on camera and anounce that if elected he'd do something about abandoned cars (or whatever the spot was about).
So, anyway, it's September of '70, and House Of Dark Shadows has opened at the Roosevelt Theater downtown. Saturday afternoon, pretty good crowd, mostly young fans.
After the first couple of attacks, they have the obligatory scene at the mansion, where all the family members are fearful, and one of them says something like "Can't anybody do something about these attacks?"
And someone in the back of the theater says,"I'm Joe Woods! Elect me President of the Cook County Board and I'll do something about vampires!"
No, it wasn't me. I kinda wish it had been; I did a pretty good imitation of Woods's voice (low, buzzy drawl).
What the hell, I thought it was funny...

[Elaine Viets]

But why would any Cook County pol get rid of vampires, Mike? We all know the dead vote there.

[Nancy Pickard]

Elaine, lol!!
Mike, love the story.

[Dru]

I loved Dark Shadows. 4pm. ABC. Run or hide. My other favorite character was Quentin and Angelique.

[Brenda]

I LOVED "Dark Shadows", somehow didn't realize it was available on DVD. Thanks for mentioning that!

I still have my dad's letters letting me know what happened on the show while I was staying with my grandmother (who only had it on a station that ran it a month behind) for a week one summer. (Of course, you know I just could not go stay with her without that promise of a detailed account of what I had missed on "Dark Shadows.")

[Harley]

My GOD, I love Chicago!

[gaylin in vancouver]

I have a young friend who is 13 and is just watching Buffy in re-runs, I had to inform her that I saw Spike first! And yes, Spike and Buffy was way better than Angel and Buffy. Then again I liked evil Angel better than angsty good Angel.

[storyteller Mary]

This was on during my college years, when I did not have a television, but I think my sister watched it. I Googled to make sure of dates and one hit said 1225 episodes -- huge!! and I completely missed it! I may have to do some Hulu . . .
but first I have to catch up on Legend of the Seeker, my niece Jill's fav . . .

[storyteller Mary]

Hank, I think I've finally caught up on the sleep I lost finishing _Face Time_ and you are most welcome. Still trying to figure out the person who circled "stolid."

[Maryann Mercer]

If we're talking Barnabas candidates...why not Alan Riokman...he does tortured so well :o) And American Bandstand? Peggy and her partner were my favorites followed by Arlene & Kenny :o)
And Spike? Hotter than Angel, but I admit it was his accent, NOT his hair that got me :o)

[Mike Doran (aka Lowbrow Crank)]

Hello again, Elaine.

The dead do indeed vote here in old Chicago - they've been loyal members of the Democratic machine for years.

I believe I mentioned that Joe Woods was the Republican candidate.

By the way, growly old Joe was the older brother of Rosemary Woods, Nixon's acrobatic secretary from the Watergate days.
Equal time: George Dunne, the Democratic candidate (and unsurprisingly the winner) was the father of Murphy Dunne, keyboardist of the Blues Brothers.

Fascinating, ain't it?

[Cinema Dave]

Like Josh, I was more of a "Gigantor" fan, while my cousins in Belmore would rush home from school and catch "Dark Shadows."

Time is on Depp's side with regards to portraying Barnabas, perhaps after he outgrows Captain Jack Sparrow?

[William in the Gulf]

Oh, man! DS was a mainstay in my youth. I've still got several of the original novels based on the show, and recently learned that "radio dramas" are being recorded with several of the original cast members! Years ago, the Sci-Fi channel was running it, and that was THE reason to get a satellite dish!

Thanks for the memories, Elaine...:)

[William in the Gulf]

P.S. Vampires in Chicago? Hell, that's just Professional Courtesy...:)

[Lora Wentzel]

Catching up on my missed "Lipstick Chronicle" posts...I LOOOOOOVED "Dark Shadows"! According to the dates, I must only have been 3-4 years old at the time, but I remember watching it with my grandmother...and being scared ( in a good way) out of my little undies! I do remember my mom questioning the wisdom of letting me watch it, but I also remember throwing a fit when they wouldn't let me. I would so adore seeing Johnny as Barnabas...I remember the women being gorgeous as well. Not so sure I want to rewatch the originals....they are in my mind in a certain way, and I don't want to wreck that.

[Count Petofi]

Since Johny Depp owns the rights to Dark Shadows, it would behoove him to try to make this a really good movie. The possibility of endless sequels from the vast story lines of the orginal Dark Shadows show, could be a sure thing. Not to mention there are books and audiobooks that pick up after the show stopped.